The tick species found in the UK

There are 11 species of ticks known to endemic in the UK (Argas vespertilionis, Dermacentor reticulatus, Haemaphysalis punctata, Ixodes apronophorus, I. arboricola, I. canisuga, I. frontalis, I. hexagonus, I.ricinus, I. trianguliceps, and I. ventalloi) However other ticks may be found that have been imported (or potentially imported) from other countries (7)

Information about the species of ticks found in the UK can be accessed from  two main sources: (i) the Tick Surveillance Scheme (TSS) (coordinated by Public Health England (PHE)  and in collaboration with the Biological Records Centre (BRC) (7, 9)) and (ii) large-scale veterinary surveys (14, 15).

According to the most recent publication from TSS (7), between 2010 and 2016, TSS received 4,173 tick records, constituting a total of 14,271 individual ticks, which represents 96.9% of all ticks acquired  within the UK and includes 11 endemic tick species: Argas vespertilionis, Dermacentor reticulatus, Haemaphysalis punctata, Ixodes apronophorus, I. arboricola, I. canisuga, I. frontalis, I. hexagonus, I. ricinus, I. trianguliceps and I. ventalloi.

Ixodes ricinus was the most frequently recorded endemic tick species (n = 2413; 59.2% of all records), followed by I. hexagonus (n = 1355; 33.2%), I. canisuga (n = 132; 3.2%) and I. frontalis (n = 56; 1.4%) (7).

The most commonly reported hosts of endemic ticks were dogs (n=1593; 39.1% of all records), humans (n=835; 20.5%) and cats (n=569; 14%). 81% of Ixodes ricinus recorded from humans were nymphs, whereas 93.4% of I. ricinus from companion animals were adults. In another survey of tick abundance on dogs presented to veterinary practices in the UK (2015), the proportion of ticks on dogs that were Ixodes ricinus was 89%, 9.8% Ixodes hexagonus and 0.9% Ixodes canisuga (14). An older study published in 2000 (16) reported the highest proportion of Ixodes ricinus ticks (52%), followed by Ixodes hexagonus (39%) and Ixodes canisuga (11%) attached to dogs and cats in Great Britain and Ireland.

If you are interested in publications about Ixodes ricinus in Scotland, we recommend the following papers – see references (10, 17–21).

For images of different tick species present across the UK,  visit the UK Big Tick survey: http://www.bigtickproject.co.uk/ticks-in-the-uk/the-results/